Drowning

Author: Mrs Ronald Weasley

Rating: NC-17

Pairing/s: Carlisle/Esme

Category: Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Warnings: Sexual content

Spoilers: Twilight

Summary: While working one night Carlisle comes across a human whose blood is as sweet to him as Bella's is to Edward.

A/N: There's just not enough Carlisle/Esme smut out there.

Esme heard the sound of running water. She propped herself up on her elbow, looking out the window to see if it had begun to rain again. The skies had been dark and dreary the whole of yesterday. The morning sky was still grey; a far paler version of what it had been yesterday, but at least there was no rain anymore, only clouds that were beginning to shift about, in search of the hidden sun.

Carlisle. It was nearly eight; he must have come home from his shift and gone straight into the shower. She had expected to him to come out by now. It wasn't like him to take more than a few minutes; he was as no-nonsense as anyone she had ever come across.

When fifteen more minutes had gone by and he still hadn't emerged, she began to worry in earnest and slipped out of the bed to check on him. The bathroom door was open slightly; she could hear the water hitting the tiles hard. She couldn't hear him, though. He was deathly silent, and she felt her breath catch in her throat for a fraction of a second, wondering if he was alright.

She let herself in, waiting for him to turn around and notice that she had come in, but he never did. Even through the steam on the shower door, she could see him, leaning against the wall, with his hands splayed on either side of the showerhead. It would have been a beautiful image, with his sculpted muscles and that smooth, pale skin she loved to touch. But there was something wrong, and she felt it right away. Something about the way his shoulders were hunched over, the way his head was bent beneath the steady, heavy stream of hot water, worried her. His eyes were closed, as if in prayer, though Esme knew better. He wasn't even breathing anymore.

He looked as if he were trying to drown himself.

And she couldn't help but remember that she had seen him like this once before; the night Rosalie had told him Bella had attempted to kill herself. That, of course, hadn't been true. But she had seen him leaning over like this in a pose of defeat, his head bowed under the shower, as he stood in perfect stillness, letting the water just wash over him, as if it would cleanse away all of his agony.

She stepped closer to the shower door and pulled it open. He was startled to see her, straightening up and running a hand over his face, he opened his eyes to meet hers. "Esme, I-"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright, Carlisle."

He stared at her for a moment, water spilling out onto the bathroom floor as neither of them made a move to close the door again. Then he turned away from her to avoid her eyes.

"Love, look at me," she said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said. "I'll be out in a minute."

"That's not what I asked you."

"Esme, I'm fine. Now close the door before the bathroom fl-"

"Damn it, Carlisle!" This time she swung the door open even wider, and steam and water came pouring out, but she didn't care. Before he could even respond, she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her, and pulled him roughly towards her, catching his mouth in mid-protest.

She kissed him with everything inside her, letting him know in no uncertain terms that she was offering this to him because she knew he needed her.

"What...?" He eased off her, as if it pained him to do so.

"Tell me what's wrong," she said. She cupped his chin and slowly turned his face so that he was forced to look at her once more. "I know when something's wrong, Carlisle."

"I let someone die today," he whispered, pulling out of her grasp. She tried to silence him by putting a finger over his lips, but he just shook his head and continued. "Never...not once in my entire existence has this happened. His blood, I've never smelled something so sweet."

"Carlisle-"

"I was surrounded by it, he'd been in a serious car accident...I knew that if I didn't do something immediately, he'd bleed to death."

"Carlisle, don't-"

"But I couldn't, I completely froze, the scent overwhelming me for the first time in nearly 100 years. I was afraid that if I got too close, I wouldn't be able to stop it, I'd kill him." His eyes met hers.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

He looked away. "By the time I had convinced myself that I couldn't kill an innocent man, it was too late..."

She didn't respond, and he shifted so he could look into her eyes once more, and she saw the unanswered question in them. She knew what he wanted her to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words. So instead, she reached up to kiss him gently, without demand, pouring everything into the kiss that she couldn't seem to say with words. In time, she felt him respond, taking no more than she gave, as if still afraid to give in, though she could feel his hesitation slowly slipping away with each second that passed.

She felt him pull away slightly. "You're clothes are all wet, love," he said in apology.

She smiled back at him, and he responded with one of his own. That's when she knew she had convinced him that it wasn't his fault.

She shook her head. "I don't care."

She took his hands and placed them at her collar, guiding his fingers to unbutton her blouse. He undid the top two buttons and then stopped, and Esme looked up to read his face.

Without ever breaking the gaze, Carlisle slid one of his hands down to trace the curve of her breast. Her blouse was thoroughly soaked, clinging to her skin, revealing the outline of her upper body. He was surprised to find that she wore no bra, and he rubbed his thumb across her nipple, causing her to choke out a gasp.

He bent his head, pulling the tip of her breast into his mouth and sucking at her nipple through the fabric.

Esme cried out, throwing her head back against the tiles, as his tongue swirled around her flesh, the sensation of cloth rubbing against her skin spiking her arousal to the point where she had trouble standing. He sensed this and gripped her waist with one hand to keep her upright, while the other undid her buttons.

Her hand found its way to the small of his back, pressing in up against her. She wasn't giving him much room to manoeuvre, but he was able to finish with the buttons and pull away just enough to slip it off her shoulders. Together, they pushed her shorts and panties down her thighs, Esme kicking them off completely when they fell to the shower floor; she couldn't stand another moment without her bare skin sliding against his.

Carlisle's lips were kissing down the hollow of her throat to her collarbone, and she felt his tongue dart out to taste her, then his lips kissed her before he began sucking. She threw her head back and let out a low growl, a sound he mirrored as he made his way back up to her neck, her perfect jaw line, until his mouth found hers again and he parted her lips with his tongue.

"Oh Carlisle," she breathed into him. "Don't stop..."

Heeding her request, he slid his hand between her head and the tiles, pulling her towards him as his tongue slid against hers. She glided her hands up to his shoulder blades, feeling his muscles tighten and flex so wonderfully for her. She pressed up against him, wanting to feel the entire 

length of his body touching hers. She felt his hardness brush against her and she parted her legs instinctively, slipping one hand down to the small of his back to pull him even closer and let him know that she was more than ready for him.

His hands came to her waist, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around him, adjusting her position until she could feel the tip of his erection at her opening. And when she did, she pushed her tongue into his mouth, swallowing his moan as he entered her swiftly, his hands gripping her hips to tilt them back and forth.

She followed his rhythm easily, clinging to him with every muscle in her body. With each thrust, she thought she could die all over again from the exquisite pleasure, until he brought a hand between them and she let out a whimper as Carlisle rubbed her clit.

With one more thrust, Esme cried out and tightened around him, and through the euphoria she heard him groan as well, before all the tension in his muscles left him. Trembling, they collapsed against each other, Carlisle placing his hands at her hips once more to hold her steady as they fell to the ground.